BMPEW 23

Chapter 23

“Brother, if you go out rashly…”

“What’s there to hesitate about? It’s just a little kid no one cares about. We can sneak her out easily!”

“Exactly. I heard no one looks for her, and she only spends time with the maids anyway.”

Vivia chimed in supportively from the side.

The youngest, Paulus, shrank back under the pressure of the two and couldn’t say a word, bowing his head.

Unable to watch any longer, Erasinus spoke up again.

“Pauli, you seem to think differently.”

Paulus hesitantly opened his mouth, nervously glancing at his siblings.

“Y-Yes. According to the servants, Lady Calidora is using the room behind the office. That’s a place where close aides are always nearby, so she’s constantly within their line of sight. So… I don’t think we can assume the head of the house is neglecting her…”

Although his words trailed off awkwardly, Erasinus smiled in satisfaction.

“Right. Unlike those two, you can see the things that aren’t immediately obvious.”

“…!”

The other two held their breath, expecting a scolding, but Erasinus calmly continued.

“As Pauli said, if we want to bring that child here, we’ll have to use our wits.”

“But if that’s the case, how are we supposed to…?”

“It won’t be easy avoiding Lord Gordio’s eyes.”

Erasinus pondered briefly, then said:

“Then I’ll tell you how. We’ll use the upcoming Festival of Mars. On that day, all the key decision-makers in this house will be away, so we’ll have at least half a day to move freely.”

The three siblings nodded in unison.

“Then we just have to avoid Young Master Abellus.”

“Like he would care about the girl anyway. We could carry her off in broad daylight and he wouldn’t notice.”

Erasinus, who had been quietly observing them draw up plans, reacted sharply to those words.

“Abellus doesn’t care about that child. Language has a stronger influence than you think. Just speaking something aloud can poison the mind.”

“Th-that’s…!”

“Sorry. It’s a bad habit I picked up from watching how people in the main house speak…”

The three siblings paused awkwardly, then smoothly corrected themselves and resumed the conversation.

“That insignificant guy is bedridden anyway.”

“But by the Festival of Mars, he’ll have recovered.”

Now they were finally speaking in a way he could bear to hear, Erasinus thought.

Originally, the seat of the Ignitus family head had been given not by inheritance, but by electing the wisest and strongest individual as the clan’s leader, ever since the Fire Clan settled in Ardentluna.

For such a role to become hereditary was absurd. And to act as though producing a head of the family somehow made a particular bloodline more noble than others—Erasinus could not forgive such a notion.

There were never supposed to be ranks among the factions of the Ignitus family.

The blood flowing through the Fire Clan was equally noble in all, and every generation had produced great people from various branches of the family.

But when Tiberius’ own nephew returned alive, he demoted the other children’s standing and demanded they show him reverence.

It was a presumptuous act.

Many who had stepped back from the front lines out of concern for the family’s unity—fearing that internal strife might disrupt important affairs—still remained in the estate.

Erasinus was one of them.

Yet Tiberius’ outrageous decisions didn’t stop there. He even gave the position of acting head of Skai’vola—rightfully Scaevolla’s— to a child of dubious origin from a side branch.

That child had brought endless problems.

She was the daughter of Lucius, a loyal subordinate of the late Gnaeus Ignitus, Tiberius’ deceased elder brother.

But her mother was a traitor who drove them to their deaths.

Still, her exceptional powers more than compensated for that truth.

The people of Ignitus were split in two, fiercely debating: power versus origin.

But Erasinus viewed the situation from a different perspective.

Calidora Ignisia.

In the end, she was a child of the Abellus family.

For five generations, the Abellus bloodline had occupied the throne of Ignitus.

Erasinus was now certain—Tiberius had no intention of handing over leadership to another branch.

But even so, there was something both the head of the family and Abellus himself didn’t understand.

There was still a long way to go before Abellus reached maturity. And in that time, anything could happen to the heir.

This was something Erasinus knew all too well from painful experience.

“I’ll be waiting for a meeting with that child.”

With expectations for the future, Erasinus addressed the three siblings.

Fortunately, Lord Abellus got out of bed after just a single day of being ill.

With a bandage around one arm, he returned to his routine, and I clung to him at every opportunity just like before.

And that brought a small ripple of change to the Ignitus estate.

“Abelnutt, let’s eat snacks!”

The servant in charge of snacks had their job stolen by me—

“Can I sit nearby while you train?”

The big tree in the front yard became my designated spot—

“I want to read too!”

I didn’t mind chasing after him with a pile of scrolls as big as my whole body.

I knew I was being a little annoying, but it’s not like I had any other way to get close to him.

I wasn’t old enough to have deep conversations with him or anything.

Since that incident in the bedroom, Lord Abellus hadn’t said much.

But there had been a very subtle change in how he treated me.

His cold gaze and blunt words remained, but he no longer said harsh things or tried to drive me away.

And sometimes, like today when he had free time, he’d even grant my requests.

“You’re back again.”

“Yes!”

“What is it this time?”

“I got nuts and fruit from the kitchen. Wanna eat?”

“Give it here.”

I shook my head and hid the basket behind my back.

“Together.”

“How annoying.”

Lord Abellus grumbled, but I held tightly onto the basket with a determined look.

Eventually, he sighed and gave in.

“Fine.”

I beamed as if I hadn’t just been stubborn moments before.

Instead of staying indoors, we chose to go out into the now-warm summer garden.

Crunch.

The sound of almonds being quietly chewed echoed in the garden.

When I had been holding the basket, it had looked so full—but once in Lord Abellus’ hands, it turned out to be barely a handful.

Once his bowl was empty, Lord Abellus sat still and stared across at me.

“Want more?”

“No.”

“I’m full.”

“You ate like a bird and call that full?”

Like a bird?

I suddenly imagined a round-headed baby picking up almonds like a bird pecking at feed, and burst into giggles.

“You’re laughing like that again.”

Though he said that, Lord Abellus didn’t look displeased.

Feeling happy for some reason, I leaned back in the chair and enjoyed the refreshing breeze of the garden.

Who would’ve thought I’d get to spend time sitting across from Lord Abellus!

‘He’s definitely gotten kinder. I wonder why? Is it because he saw I wanted to help him? Or maybe he pities me?’

Suddenly, I remembered the request I made to him when I fell asleep in his room. He had such a conflicted expression then.

Could it be that letting me stick around now is his way of accepting that request?

After some hesitation, I decided to just ask him directly.

“Abelnutt, did you finish thinking?”

Lord Abellus’ eyes widened briefly, as if he didn’t understand, then returned to normal.

“Ah. That day.”

“You done? You done?”

I asked brightly, and Lord Abellus gave a firm answer.

“Not yet.”

Honestly, I hadn’t really expected a positive response.

Even if he had decided to help, I doubted he’d tell me directly.

Still, I showed no disappointment and cheerfully asked,

“How long do I wait?”